Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Trump cast his characteristic pall over the Chattering Class today at Michaels restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. It seemed no matter where one turned, the conversation inevitably inched towards Trumpworld. "Is he really going to win?" everyone seemed to be asking. As The Corsair walked in to meet David Patrick Columbia at Table 8, we were greeted to the site of Judy Collins, she of the ethereal voice, crouched under a large summer hat, going incognito (Isn't the point of Michaels on a Wednesday to be highly visible?). Still, she can do no wrong in The Corsair's blog. We have loved Collins madly ever since watching her on Sesame Street in our youth, singing "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow."(Long sigh)

There was a lot of "Yesterday" -- of nostalgia -- underpinning the general fear over a Trump planet. Kathryn Leigh Scott, who played Josette DePres on Dark Shadows was among the well-heeled. She has just authored a new book Last Dance at the Savoy, her memoir and has been on the circuit promoting. Her husband, who passed away, gave David his first job at Los Angeles magazine. They did some catching up while The Corsair caught up with AdAge and Mediabistro's awesome Diane Clehane, on Dark Shadows, on Outlander and why she really ought to watch #GameofThrones.

The conversation was largely about politics, about pop culture: the OJ telemovies, Paris Hilton (heralding the death of the traditional socialite, the Kardashians, the financial crisis, the Presidential election, Bernie Sanders, the cell-phonification of restaurants nowadays and why men when they get older love History. And, of course, Writing. I have wanted to become a professional writer since I was about eight and was happy to learn that roughly the same was true for David. Do kids today have that sense of what they want to do and the desire to do it even if it does not always mean great wealth? Is vocational happiness worth pursuing even with the knowledge that wealth on that career path will be elusive?

Also in the crowd: Star Jones, Dennis Bosso and Jack Meyers. Things slowed down after Memorial Day, summer house season, especially as the Cannes Lion events are being held a world away. Can Trump really win? The general consensus, among those that The Corsair spoke to this afternoon, is a general sense of fear at the possibility.